Local Ducati shop "lowered" a friends DRZ400SM....all he did was go in and cut the springs an inch.....not good. ( Ya gotta also be concerned with the new swingarm angle and ya can't lower it w/o messing that up a bit)

I told him I expected an internal block made up for lowering the right way.....yah I realize the swingarm angle will be a little off, but after all, it's just a streetbike. It's not like I can ride anywhere near the bike's limits on the street (that's why I have racebikes,LOL), so I am prepared to sacrifice a little. I already only ride on touring tires and still drag hard parts, so being honest, the bike has all kinds of shortcomings that limit it already...I don't think the swingarm angle will be a dealbreaker.

Now his email said "Including a full service", which I assume to be fluids, seals, nitro, etc...I don't think there is any re-springing or re-valving in that.

His original post:
"
Originally Posted by omnivoreSo, a KTM dealer and suspension specialist here in Canada is Enduro Engineering.

I sent him an email asking about internally lowering the forks and shock of the 950SM...and he quoted me $350 inlucing a full shock and fork service.

Good price?"

His original email "asked about lowering the forks and shock" which is precisely what I had done. My suspension work did in fact include springs, re-valving and modifying the shock (the only way to lower a WP shock that I am aware of). As Keith says, simply cutting the spring isn't going to get it.
*

__________________
Mike -

"For those who fight for it life has a flavor the protected never know."
USMC 65-68 RVN 66-67

Latest arrival date is May 7th. Do not hold your breath. I couldnt wait so I am driving to Maine thursday to pick up a nice XR400R from another inmate. It looks pretty solid. Psyched to have a proper dirt bike so I wont do something stupid to the SM. Which Im sure will happen eventually. It is tagged and has a light kit so I can register it for the stret here to get to some spots nearby. Should be a fun summer.

"Your recent inquiry was forwarded to the Two Wheel division of Continental Tire the Americas.The 120/70-17 and 180/55-17 Trail Attacks are now in production. The rear tire has just started to arrivein the US. The front will arrive by about end May. The same sizes in the TKC80's are still in R&D andhave not yet been released into production. As of today, we expect to have these tires here in theUS by mid summer. We do not sell direct to the dealer level. Please continue to check with your localdealer for availability. He will be able to order these tires from his distributor.

Thank you for your interest in Continental motorcycle tires."

If you have a better source I sure could use it.

__________________
Mike -

"For those who fight for it life has a flavor the protected never know."
USMC 65-68 RVN 66-67

"Your recent inquiry was forwarded to the Two Wheel division of Continental Tire the Americas.The 120/70-17 and 180/55-17 Trail Attacks are now in production. The rear tire has just started to arrivein the US. The front will arrive by about end May. The same sizes in the TKC80's are still in R&D andhave not yet been released into production. As of today, we expect to have these tires here in theUS by mid summer. We do not sell direct to the dealer level. Please continue to check with your localdealer for availability. He will be able to order these tires from his distributor.

I contacted them in January and originally was told mid february, then at that time 1-2 weeks and then end of March and now this. So I am not putting much faith in the May 7th date and at this point I probably will put another set of syncs on the bike if I can find a set, apparently they are discontinuing them.

Hence the XR purchase. Been wanting one for a while. Let's hope it is as good as it sounds/looks online.

I contacted them in January and originally was told mid february, then at that time 1-2 weeks and then end of March and now this. So I am not putting much faith in the May 7th date and at this point I probably will put another set of syncs on the bike if I can find a set, apparently they are discontinuing them.

Hence the XR purchase. Been wanting one for a while. Let's hope it is as good as it sounds/looks online.

Thanks!

Have you thought about putting a set of Perelli Scorpion Trails on your SM? A bit like the Conti Trail Attack (95/5) but should give you a bit better traction on dirt/gravel without sacrificing too much pavement traction.

__________________
Mike -

"For those who fight for it life has a flavor the protected never know."
USMC 65-68 RVN 66-67

Have you thought about putting a set of Perelli Scorpion Trails on your SM? A bit like the Conti Trail Attack (95/5) but should give you a bit better traction on dirt/gravel without sacrificing too much pavement traction.

Mike:

Is that what replaced the scorpion syncs? I actually liked that tire for the occasional dirt road.

PREPPYPYRO:

Thanks for the well wishes. I will keep you guys posted. I am borrowing my buddy's pickup and heading to Portland tomorrow to meet inmate Chris W to retrieve the bike. I am looking forward to it and am even more psyched that I should be able to register it as it is tagged in Maine currently, so I can ride to a few spots nearby without getting arrested!!

They seem like very reliable, cool bikes. I like stuff that is tried and true. Gotta learn the intricacies of properly kickstarting the bike though, never had a kicker before.

Hi everybody, can't believe nearly a month has gone by. My swingarm is bent. I took it off and stretched a string between the centerlines of the front pivot axle and the rear wheel axle and checked for square. I clamped a small engineers square at the pivot axle's centerline to eleveate the string above the shock mount area to get a straight shot with the string. The big engineers square in the second pic tells the story. Both arms are pushed towards the sprocket side and that was causing the chain grinding noise I posted earlier. The lower shock eye put up a fight removing it too as it was pinched.

I have not done anything I would consider overly harsh with the bike- certainly nowhere near as harsh as KTM's "Roof of Africa" 950SE video. When I propped the swingarm up on the machinist's blocks on my cast iron table saw, the first thing I noticed was that it rocked diagonally corner-to-corner which indicated a twist. The sprocket side arm was twisted upwards. The rocking looked worst than it measured which was only .024".

I got a replacement swingarm off of eBay that was harvested from a low-mile un-wrecked 990 Super Duke. BTW, big kudos to eBay seller rubbersideupllc. New swingarms are over $1k and most used ones are running over $500. I got mine for $169. This seller has a good selection of parts and his customer service is top notch. OK, shameless plug over. I checked the 'new' swingarm and the centerlines are dead-on square. This swingarm also rocked diagonally though. The sprocket side arm is bent up .028". Still small but somewhat disturbing. I've only checked 2 swingarms so it could just be coinsidence, but I'm wondering if the LC8 swingarms are prone to some torque twist. My bike is fairly low in mileage (about 10k) on mostly straight Kansas roads and I'm wondering if the twist would increase with use. Would a rider with the ability to push one of these bikes to the limits in the twisties with sticky tires stress the swingarm even more? I'm no chassis engineer so I do not know at what point a twist might start creating handling issues, but would the symptoms be weirdness at trail braking, leaning in and mid corner suspension compression? Seems we've heard of symptoms like that. Then again, I could just be over-thinking it

My swingarm probably got bent last summer when I bottomed out hard in a little left hander jump. The rear tire hit parts (exhaust) before it totally bottomed out and that pinched the rear wheel and instantly locked it up creating an intense jolt. My next step is to remove the shock spring and try to get full travel without hitting parts. All the exhaust routing looks correct so hopefully some minor re-swiveling at the joints will free up some clearance.

The brake side continues to impress. I finished the clutch side and have a few rides on it. Well pleased with it's performance thus far. Not a cheap mod, in the end I can't say the clutch works a ton better, I prefer the Brembo's point of engagement but it's a fairly minor point. I am well pleased with the remote reservoir. Being able to see fluid condition and level at a glance is much nicer. No more weeping PIA magura reservoir is a plus as well.

I posted awhile back that my stock Brembo master cylinder failed, it can't be repaired.

One of the things I've loved about the SMR was the power and feel of the front brake. Still I was reluctant to replace the failed part with a new version of the same once I learned Brembo offer their RCS series for nearly the same cost as the stock replacement ($260 v $305 for the RCS). The RCS is repairable, offers a forged body that is CNC'ed and contains the same piston as the high end billet Brembo MC's. The lever folds, offers a true micro reach adjustment plus adjustable leverage ratio. I went ahead and picked one up, installed it and can now report the feel/power are even better then stock.

The install was no trouble. The stock brake light micro switch snaps right onto the RCS, brake line is in the same place and bolts right up with the stock banjo (the RCS comes with a banjo and micro switch as well). The only problem was with the remote reservoir bracket. I didn't buy the remote reservoir kit, thinking I could use the stock one. You can but the mounting bracket won't work. I happened to have a nice piece of aluminum sitting around wanting to become a bracket so I obliged and fabbed a new bracket.

I've never been very happy with the stock Magura clutch master cylinder. I feel it's a PIA to fill, and makes a mess just checking the fluid level/condition. I've been thinking for some time that it would be nice to replace it with a radial remote reservoir MC. It just so happens Brembo offer a matching RCS clutch MC and so...

I'm about half way through the clutch side install, just waiting on a few parts to arrive. The stock brake hose won't work on the RCS, I used the brake hose off a SuperDuke (about an 1" too short btw). It was a total PIA to remove the stock hose, tank, airbox cover, headlight all had to come off. The new MC doesn't have a spot to mount either the stock clutch switch or the choke lever. I've ordered a banjo/pressure switch to replace the clutch switch and plan on fabbing up a bracket to mount the stock Magura cover/choke lever to the bars. Brembo offer mounting caps with mirror mounts for both the clutch and brake MC's. I've ordered a set, waiting for them to arrive. If all goes to plan I should have it back on the road by this coming weekend. I'll post some updated pics once I'm finished.

Should be interesting to see how the adjustable leverage ratio effects the clutch feel.

What were your symptoms, chain noise? I'm finding it hard to believe you bottomed and bent it, my SE does and Adv saw massive hits off jumps and drop offs where the suspension hit hard. For all I know though, they were / are both bent?